Death by Love
by Takalasee
Summary: Are you prepared to die? he asked her. Her gaze met the ground beside her. Please. Do me a favor. ItachiSakura pairing. .
1. The Encounter

Taka- Hello everyone. . I'm really sorry that things have been so slow—I had to move to another state, so I didn't have time to update any of my stories. BUT NOW I DO! So I started this one, and my other one, "Welcome to Camp Kakashi", will be updated ASAP. But for now, please enjoy my first EVER Sakura+Itachi pairup! n.n

Chapter One: The Encounter

Uchiha Itachi followed an unfamiliar trail impatiently. He knew he was onto Sasuke's trail but his knowledge was limited of his whereabouts. With the ANBU diminished and Orochimaru on the loose, Itachi couldn't afford to be lost under any circumstances.

His pace slowed to a moderate walk as he came to a clearing. A small pond lay in his line of vision, along with an array of trees.

He began to trace the area when his eyes fell upon the outline of a girl.

She was shrouded over the edge of the rivulet. A tear slid down from her eye and followed her cheek, then disrupted the still water below her. Her left hand was clenching what looked like a kunai blade.

Itachi glowered at her. She was in the way. His glare turned colder as he prepared to kill her.

"Damn you, Sasuke!" said the girl, digging her nails into the ground.

Curiosity had gotten the best of him as she uttered his brother's name. What reference did this girl have with him? Itachi leaned against a nearby tree and watched her.

The girl's dawn-tinted hair followed the direction of the wind carelessly and she fought angry tears flowing down her face. With quivering fingers, she bought the blade up and perched it against her chest.

She held it there momentarily, as if in hesitation, and then took in a deep, shaky breath.

Itachi eyed her nonchalantly, but did note the position of the blade on her chest. If she did pierce herself, she would not die, instead undoubtedly miss her heart—if that was where she was aiming.

She closed her eyes and pressed the blade into her skin. A painful moan escaped from her lips, and she dropped the weapon.

"You are weak." Itachi stated simply. The girl jumped and averted her attention toward him. A pool of blood was chasing down her chest.

"Who are you!" she spat, clutching the wound. "What do you want!" She couldn't help but notice the uncanny resemblance to Sasuke that this stranger held.

Itachi said nothing, instead approached her calmly. The girl shrouded back cautiously, fear clouding her eyes.

Itachi stood over her. He watched the weak girl tremble below him. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a shuriken throwing star. He smirked as the color drained from her already pale face, and she slid back, supported by her elbows.

Itachi held the star between his index and middle finger, then squatted down and held it at her throat.

"Are you prepared to die?" he asked her.

Her eyes met the ground beside her. "Please. Do me a favor."

He pressed the weapon closer into her throat, threatening her sarcasm.

She closed her eyes and swallowed.

"A-Are… are you Uchiha Itachi?" she asked, not daring to move. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"I am. What knowledge do you have of me?"

"…you look so much… like Sasuke." Itachi's eyes grew cold and angry. He pressed the star into her neck incisively and watched the blood slowly inch down her skin.

She coughed and threw her head onto the ground. Her breathing became heavier, and her hands wrapped around Itachi's wrist instinctively.

A moment passed briefly, Itachi contentedly watching the girl. This, by far would be the slowest life he had ever taken.

Her eyebrows furrowed and she shut her eyes tightly, squeezing more tears from them.

"Tell me," Itachi began, holding his arm dormant, "who are you?"

She winced. "Haruno… Haruno Sakura." She managed, then choked on her words. Her grasp around his wrist grew strained with anticipation. "If you're going to kill me, then just do it."

Itachi pulled away from her. Sakura's eyes grew wide with confusion.

"You may come of use to me." He stated simply, and landed a rough punch in her stomach.

Before she could react, she felt dizziness consume her, and she fainted there before him.

2


	2. Sasuke's Fury

Taka- I like this story. LOL this is actually one of my favorite fanfictions written by me, so if you see it updated a lot, that's why. Oh, and one thing I forgot to do:

Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto… or any of the characters… but I do own the story line… mwaha.

Taka- OHHH thank you so much reviewers! . I feel so lovered now, thanks! Please keep reviewing, it gets me inspired:3

Anywayz… on with the chapter!

Chapter Two- Sasuke's Fury

Sakura's POV, Three Hours Later

I groaned heavily, stirring a few hours later. I had wakened to an unpleasant headache and a sore stomach, although this was the least of my worries now. My eyes darted around apprehensively. I did not know where I was.

In attempts to sit up, I cried out in pain, lacking a monstrous amount of energy and strength. My hands, which I realized I could use to my advantage, had found their way to my throat now, where I could feel the course, dry blood from the wound there. I was happy to appreciate that I wasn't dead. Yet that assuredness was quickly stripped from me. Staring at me with cold, hard eyes was him.

Itachi.

I managed a scream, but as soon as the utterance passed my lips his hand flung over my mouth.

"Quiet," he muttered, his eyes darting around the area. I was glad that those crimson orbs had left my area. They were so damn creepy.

I swallowed – my throat swelling in pain – and followed his command. Ever so slowly, he lifted his hand and brought it back to his side.

"What do you want…?" I asked, timid and quiet. There was no hiding my fear of this man. Just his name itself – although its Japanese translation isn't all too intimidating – the renown of the Uchiha clan was threatening in its lonesome.

"Where is he?" He asked, lacking any sort of emotion in his tone.

"Who –?"

"You know damn well of whom I speak. Do not play these games with me, bitch."

I didn't want to reply. I wanted to run away right then and there. God knows where I would have gone, but I just didn't want him around me anymore.

"I don't… I don't know." I lied, a heavy anchor latching onto my heart.

"Lying will not aid you." He simply stated, his glare heavier than before. I wanted to call him a hypocrite for saying that. The damn liar. I was sure he'd lied a few times in his life.

My lips parted momentarily. I didn't know what would come from them, but I just wanted to scream. My throat, however, did not have the same intentions. Its hoarseness drove me from releasing a shriek.

I was in a bad situation. For one, this guy could kill me on the spot if I didn't tell him, but on the other hand, he may kill Sasuke as well. Either way, the end result was going to be pain or death. Suffering.

I exchanged a glance with the tree beside me, now looking away from the cold-blooded killer. The tree looked so kind now, so inviting. I thought of myself silly for praising a tree as such, but in all honesties, I wanted to hold that tree close and sob in it.

Even without his eyes in clear view, I could feel his aura. He was growing impatient.

"Tell me where he is." He said. That time, the emotion in his voice was unsettling. It could only be described as anger, hurt, pain. It made a shiver run along my spine.

"I don't want to," said I. The familiar cling of a kunai sounded as I heard him shift. He was now kneeling beside me. Somehow, I had mustered up audacity in the last minutes or so. I eyed him. "What are you going to do, kill me?" His glare stiffened yet, but so did mine.

"There are… many options I have before doing so." He replied. The slight apparition of a smirk played along his lips, in return my eyes widened. I struggled to sit up, moaning once more, finding my arms painful to depend upon.

"You sick bastard –" I began. The man wouldn't let me finish as his fingers maneuvered around my throat, pressing my neck against the tree behind me. I had once found that tree comforting, but I was wishing so that it wasn't there.

"What seems to be the matter, wench? Surely you, in all of your adoration and time alone with my brother, you must have fucked him." He tightened his grip. "Or is princess here a little virgin?"

I slapped him. I don't know how I found the strength to, but I did. My blood began to race. But the slap didn't seem to faze him as he dragged me up the tree. I coughed in response; his arctic fingers were still embracing my throat.

I felt something pronging along my side. At once I realized that it was a dagger. He glared at me once more, and all I could do was helplessly stand there, trying to free myself from his deadly grasp.

"You have one last chance to tell me where he is. If you do not do so, I will have no hesitation in killing you." He almost sounded happy at hearing himself say the word 'killing'. I managed a weak cry, and he took it into account that if I could barely breathe, I could barely speak. His hold had loosened a bit.

"What…" I said, breathing set afoot as I was able to now, "are you going to do once you find him?" I questioned. His answer was simple and brief.

"I'm going to kill him," which, in all of my knowledge of Sasuke and his brother, completely defeated the purpose of Itachi leaving Sasuke alive. Wasn't his intention to fight his younger brother after Sasuke's mastery of the martial arts? But what he added next made my delirium come to view.

"Then Uzumaki Naruto."

I let out a brief laugh. This, I supposed, was to cover my intense grief.

"Naruto? Naruto's dead." I said. "And Sasuke might as well be." I almost sighed in relief as I felt the sword slip away from my skin.

"Explain," requested Itachi. At this point I had figured it was best to do what he said.

"Sasuke killed him," my eyes found the ground, and I felt much more comfortable staring there than at the spitting image of Sasuke, "and then massacred the whole village. Every single damn person in Konoha." Except for me. "With the exception of yours truly."

He threatened his grip to my sarcasm. But even without looking at him, I knew his face was expressionless. And through my anger and hatred, I felt a few stray tears accompany my cheeks.

"Killing him won't bring them back." I said. Like Itachi cared. It seemed to me, at the time, more of a realization for myself. He then threw me to the ground, walking on a path that seemed towards Konoha.

My memory stayed on my last few, undying moments with Sasuke.

Taka- I am so mean. 3 But yesh, you will find out what happens with Sakura and Sasuke in the next chapter. - And it _will_ be soon. School is almost out, so I won't have to worry so much about any work due. But please review, and please tell me any opinions or ideas you may have.

Tank yous. 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters from it. x3 BUT I do own the story and all of the things that the charries do in it. I feel godly. O-o And yes, I know I did this previously in the story, but I'm doing it again, just in case. )


	3. No Sanity

Taka- 3 Helloies. I'm sorry that I haven't updated much, but I am now. So I'll try to post this chapter the same day that I posted the last one. If not, I'm sorry. v.v Will you still luff me?

Anyhoo… Here is chapter three. 3

Chapter Three:

I crawled away from him, tears streaming effortlessly from my eyelids. My nails were digging deep into the dirt.

"Sakura…?" he asked. His eyes were no longer sharingan, but how I'd come to distrust them. "Sakura… it's me…" The 'me' Sasuke spoke of was anything but. On his hands – the ones I used to long for him to hold me in – were the remnants of our classmates and peers; Naruto's laugh still echoed in my mind. It almost didn't seem real that Sasuke had done this.

I shook my head slowly, in denial of not only him, but myself.

"Sasuke…" I said his name, pronouncing each syllable flawlessly, "why… why did you kill Naruto?"

His soft eyes turned hard and merciless.

"He was… in the way…" he reasoned, gazing at the ground. He neared me, standing adjacent to my body.

"And the others!" I looked at him, reaching my forearm over my tear-strained eyes. As I wiped away a few of the sobs, more fell and greeted the ground. "What did they do? Why – Master Kakashi – Iruka-sensei?"

Sasuke kneeled beside me, eyes wide and almost helpless. It almost seemed he was holding back tears as well. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer against my pleas.  
"No, Sasuke –" I protested, trying to pull away from his taught grasp. It did not help, however, and he placed me on his lap, his fingers clenching my dress.

"Sakura… I…"

I sat in his embrace, unsure as to whether I should accept him or reject him. Did… did he know what he was doing when he killed Naruto? When he slaughtered and massacred innocent children, women, and men, was he conscious of his wrongdoings?

I felt his hand smooth over my hair and along my side, and released a shaky breath.

"Sasuke, please…" I attempted to push him away. He held close. Looking up at him, my eyes requested that he let me go. I was now face to face with him. A few months previous this position with Sasuke would have melted my heart – ironically, my heart was as frigid as ice now.

His eyes darted over my features, and he leaned in closer. I was fully aware of his intentions, but ceased to prevent them. In an instant, his lips met mine.

I froze.

His kiss was neither loving nor passionate; it was a sort of eager, forceful one instead. I did not kiss him back, only sat there like a lifeless doll in his arms.

He pulled back, gazing into my eyes with hurt ones. "Sakura?" His whisper was hoarse.

"I-I'm sorry Sasuke…" I wrenched out of his arms, standing up. After fighting a few good tears, I looked at him once more. I released a terrified shriek at seeing the oh so familiar relics of Orochimaru's bite consume his body. "N-No…" _Not again!_

I stumbled back at first, and then darted through the woods, not daring to glance behind me.

There was no turning back.

Omniscient POV 

Itachi approached Konoha's stable wooden gates. They were unmanned, no guards in sight for what seemed like miles. The Uchiha easily opened the gate doors, walking into the village. The familiar relish of blood enticed his senses as he sauntered through the town. His eyes watched the ground. There were bodies left and right; silence carried after.

_It really was you, little brother, _He thought, continuing his stroll through the path of corpses. With each step he took, a crunching sound echoed.

Sasuke was not here.

Itachi ceased his amble. He spotted a glimmer from the dirt path below him, and knelt down to identify it. At once he realized the proverbial outline of a kunai blade fragment. Crushing it, he turned his wrist over, unfurling his fingers to allow the now smaller fragments to descend.

_I will find you._

He retraced his steps and approached the entryway once more. Passing through it, he knew where his next destination lay.

Haruno Sakura.

x

Sakura wandered through the woods hopelessly; it was getting much too late for a girl, or anyone for that matter, to be out alone. She knew she had to find some sort of shelter soon.

The naive girl embraced herself, letting out a sigh. Her bare arms couldn't stand the night's merciless, cold air. Her eyes roamed through the blackness of the night; the closest thing she could see was her breath, foggy in the frigid air.

Was it really this cold? Or was she just imagining it?

…Was… she imagining Sasuke? Or… did he really slaughter the whole village?

She contemplated to herself, discussing her denial, when in a moment's notice she was violently thrown against a tree.

Sakura let out a horrified cry. But the unmistakable hold of Itachi's fingers was recollected in her memory, and she blinked a few times to confirm her suspicions. Sure enough, the brother of Sasuke was staring at her through ruby eyes.

"What do you want?" she cried, almost begging.

"You will come with me," he exacted.

"What the hell! You think you can just boss people around? What the hell is your problem?" she backed. Definitely not the right thing to say.

Itachi, in return, said nothing. He simply gripped her wrist harshly, yanking her towards a seemingly random direction.

"Ah!" she cried, pulling away desperately. "Th-That hurts! Let go of me!"

Itachi did not listen. He didn't care to.

As much as she wanted to, Sakura did not dare to cry once again before Itachi. She'd heard somewhere that showing weakness in a hostage situation only aids the 'kidnapper' in taking advantage of you. So she bit down on her lip.

"Where… are we going?" she inquired, in a firm, demanding tone.

"Somewhere discreet," he replied.

"Why?"

He stopped. Turning around to face her, his eyes showed no means of approval.

"Cease your incompetent inquiries, woman," he said. Sakura fumed.

"You're such an ass." It seemed her nerve had taken the better of her. Itachi did not reply, instead tightened his grip on her wrist and increased his speed in the direction.

Sakura groaned in pain. She could already feel a bruise forming at her wrist, which had already been obscured with slit marks.

The sky's hue darkened with every few steps that they took. The woods seemed to be colder every moment, causing Sakura to shudder slightly. It did not last too long, however, because they arrived at a desolate location a few moments later. There – although the darkness concealed much of their vision – lay a vacant cabin.

Itachi drew her further towards it, pulling her inside.

x

Taka- Aaaand I think that's a good place to stop. 3 Yesh, you know I love you all. So I shall update the next chappie as soon as possible!

Disclaimer: I do not own Itachi, Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, Kakashi – any of the bunch. I wish I did, but I can't. Anyhoo… I do own the storyline. Oh yesh.

Thank you so much for all of the positive reviews. ) It really makes me glad to know that you all are enjoying this story so much. Please leave more opinions and reviews!


	4. Remembering the Forgotten

Taka- See? I told you I would update a lot. Ooh, I'm listening to P!ATD while I type this. Oh yesh. x3 So anyway, here is the forth chapter. Sorry if you all had ideas, but I had previously written this story in a notebook (unfinished), so even though I am changing the way I wrote it as I type, the general story is the same. But if I find an idea that I really like I'll find a way to shove it in there.

And without further a due, 'Chapitre Quatre'.

Chapter Four: Remembering the Forgotten

It was dark. Pitch black.

It seemed as if the next sound could come from anywhere, and if Sakura had stepped any further, she would tumble into the darkness. It almost seemed so as Itachi threw her to the floor carelessly. A few steps were heard, and a source of light emerged soon after. Sakura looked up to see an old sort of lantern, with a dim light glowing from it.

She was glad that she could see Itachi now, but… his eyes.

The girl groaned, sitting up. She pondered over the reasons that Itachi would have brought her here. _Hostage? No… that wouldn't make sense… Oh… my god… he's not going to… _Her fearful thoughts were interrupted as she stared at him with intense dread.

Itachi glared at her suspiciously.

"I would not take any pleasure in touching you, bitch." He said, calming her thoughts slightly. Sakura lowered her gaze towards the floor, as if studying its pattern. The actual design was drab and boring, consisting of uneven, wooden boards. They followed along the whole floor of the cabin, and as her eyes traced them, they always seemed to point towards Itachi.

Damn it.

"Then what the hell do you want?" she asked. Itachi stood silently beside the lantern, almost leering over it. The shadow he cast was more intimidating than himself, in Sakura's eyes.

"You will do as I say," he started, glaring down at her, "and do not even think about running towards that door. You do, and I kill you." Simple enough.

"And since when, in the few moments that you've known me, have I valued my life?"

"The moment of your last breath will be your most valued." said the cold-blooded one.

Sakura remained silent, hating the fact that he could think of things to top whatever she said. She gave him an absent sort of glare.

"Sasuke," the way he spoke his sibling's name made even Sakura chill, "tell me. Were his fighting skills advanced?"

She scoffed.

"Did you not hear the part where I said he slaughtered the whole village? Yes. He was the strongest definition of the word 'ninja' – at least in my book." She looked over to the side, noting that the walls carried the same pattern as their perpendicular partner. "He was amazing."

"He was weak." Itachi said, glowering. "If in fact he had been taken over by Orochimaru's bite, then his weakness allowed it to consume him. The fact that he murdered a village is meaningless to me."

Although Sakura hated it, she had to take some of what he said into thought.

"How did you know?"

"Do I look unstable as to my knowledge?"

"Yes."

They were silently glaring at each other now, her emerald eyes daring his crimson ones. A few minutes passed, until Sakura broke their hushed quarrel. She shifted her focus off of him.

She drew her knees to her chest, setting her head on them. "All right. I've told you."

He almost smirked at her wanting to leave. He'd realized that the thought of being in the same room as him made her cringe, so he didn't want her to leave just yet. This girl was enjoyable to torture as such. He did not have to demand that she go on; she took the hint.

"He and Naruto," she sighed. Speaking of the two of them definitely did not lift her spirits. "…they were so close. But something happened – I don't know what – it drew Sasuke to kill Naruto. And then his damn bloodlust went further, and he massacred everyone. But he didn't kill me."

"Were you present at the time of the slaughter?" he asked, absolutely no interest coming from his voice.

"I was gone. Outside of Konoha. I wasn't there when everyone needed me most." She bit down hard on her lip. _I'm not going to cry._

A few moments lingered once more.

"When he killed Naruto, it was not Orochimaru." Sakura couldn't take it any longer. At realizing this fact, she started sobbing, bringing her hands up to her face, in impractical attempts to hide her tears.

Itachi eyed her, wanting to kill her then. His mind wandered to watching her bleed, crying, begging for him to spare her. But of course, he would not, and he grew impatient at the thought of stabbing her with a kunai. Blood makes the situation better.

The girl continued to cry, wiping away tears frequently.

"My brother must have hated you." Itachi gathered. This made Sakura glare at him with the utmost hatred.

"He loved me." She wanted to slap him again. She wanted to feel the sting of her hand against his cheek – hell, she wanted to kill him. Although that thought was careless and impossible, she knew, there was no problem with imagining it.

"Love? It is a word I cease to remember."

"Remember? You don't have a memory of it." she said, making an assumption.

"Is that what you think?" Itachi said. "Well, it has been presented in my thoughts that my brother, or anyone in fact, from the Uchiha bloodline, would not love you. Nor would any man with sense on this earth, and you're just a bitch who's in denial. Weak. That is what you are."

"You say that about every single person who you assume is beneath you." Sakura backed, glaring once more. "Is that all you think about? The _weakness _of a potential opponent?"

"I never claimed your title as that of potential or opponent." He said.

"Good. Because I wouldn't want to be one."

"How touching."

"Your sarcasm hardly helps," she muttered.

The sound of rain played along the rooftops of the cabin. This alerted both of the arguers, and they both assumed that the night they had ahead of them was going to be long.

"Damn," Sakura began to stand up, glancing briefly at the door before at Itachi, "I presume we're finished here?"

"Not quite."

Her lips parted slightly as if she was going to respond to his insensitive talk, but she just shook her head and began towards the door. It was so close to her. Almost five feet. She knew she could reach it, and she did, yanking open the door, but her wrist stayed.

Itachi held it, one hand wrapped around her wrist.

"Were you not aware of my instructions earlier?"

The rain poured heavily now, a bit sweeping into the cabin as she stood there with the door open. She was now wet, watching him angrily.

"Stop it! Let go of my wrist! I did what you wanted!"

Itachi ignored her, simply pulled her closer in. He drew her wrist to his visibility, inspecting the various slit marks there. He sent her a pitiful glare before slamming the door.

"Pathetic."

She was still struggling with getting free of his grasp.

"Let go of me you bastard!" she cried, resisting his hold.

He grew impatient with simply her voice, and threw her against the cabin wall, pinning her hands abreast her head, then pressing a kunai to her throat.

"This is getting old," she uttered through clenched teeth.

"For me, watching you suffer never grows tiring," he backed, menacing her throat with the blade. He gazed at her neck, expecting to see blood, and found none. He pressed the blade harder.

Sakura let out a cry, warm blood traveling her damp skin now.

Itachi watched the blood inch over her skin, then looked back up at her. His eyes scanned her features; every painful twist of her skin made him want to hurt her more. He slid the kunai further along her neck, to her collarbone, pressing it in there more.

Sakura was groaning in pain now. She knew that this was what he wanted, but she could not help expressing her pain. In an attempt to stop satisfying him, she bit down on her lip, harder each time he cut her skin.

Itachi stopped at the dearth of hearing painful cries or suffering. His eyes wandered her, and he pressed her head back up against the cabin.

"Goodnight," he said sarcastically, knocking her out with one, swift strike to her abdomen. He let go of her, watching the girl fall limp to the floor.

Sleep would not come that night.

Taka- TADA! O-o Wow, I edited a LOT in this chapter… meaning, what I wrote in the book was _not _what I put in the chapter. I actually like what I typed better than what I wrote. - So … yeah… tell me what you think, all right? Tank yous! And leave reviews!


	5. Hopeless

Taka- Hello! o-o I've been pretty excited about this story thus far. A lot of my friends at school really like it, and most of them don't even know what anime is. So thank you guys, too, it really makes me happy to know that you like the story so much! Oh! And also, I've had over 1,200 hits for this story! OMIGOSH! That beats all of the other stories I've had COMBINED. (Welcome to Camp Kakashi is second with a little over 400-something hits). SO THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH::hugs all of you all: x3

ANYWAY… I figured that I should answer a few questions:

**(Q):** Is Naruto really dead?

**(A):** Hm. Well, thus far, he is dead. Sasuke killed him for sake of defeating his brother. I don't know… later on in the fanfiction I may surprise a few of you.

**(Q):** How old are Itachi, Sakura, etc.?

**(A):** All right, all right. Now, I know this will be a bit skewed, _however_, Sakura is around sixteen, maybe seventeen, and Itachi is in his early twenties. So yep.

**(Q):** Is Itachi going to rape Sakura?

**(A):** …I ish not telling. A few of my friends at school suggested it, but I don't know. So far, the character I'm portraying of Itachi would not have any interest in sexual desires. But… he would be enjoying the fact that Sakura hates every moment of it. SO. I do have the ability to write a rape scene, but I don't know if I want to. There may be a few moments of close rape, but you never know. You'll just have to find out.

**(Q):** How do I ask questions?

**(A):** All righty! You can e-mail me or leave a question in the reviews section.  I frequently check my reviews, so that may be an easier way. You can also post suggestions or opinions and the like. Tank yous!

So. On with the chapter, then? Right.

Chapter Five: Hopeless

The sun had begun to dawn, light from it shining through a dusty window in the cabin. Itachi was sitting down, leaning against the patterned cabin wall, his eyes closed. He was not asleep, but it was so eerily quiet that it seemed he was.

It was in that instant that Sakura awoke, groaning heavily at the first sign of her pounding headache. She sat up, sliding her hand over her forehead. It was not warm. This assured her that she had not caught pneumonia from sleeping in wet clothes; it must have been Itachi's violent blow to her stomach.

Her eyes wandered over to Itachi, whose eyes were now open and glaring at her sternly.

Those damn eyes.

She backed his glare with one of her own, her fingers groping the wall now to balance her as she stood up. Another cry of ache passed her lips, and she leaned against the wall to maintain her equilibrium.

Although the two of them exchanged glances, not a word passed their lips. Sakura had not noticed, but Itachi was no longer in his cloak. Beneath it was his fitted net top, which really did nothing to secrete his tone muscles and body. She was not admiring him, however.

"As I said previously. You are weak."

"You got a damn problem with it? Well that shows a sign of weakness, too. I don't give a damn what you think, asshole." She intensified her defiant stare at him, but her headache prevented her from commenting any further.

"I have a name. Use it." he said, his eyes meeting hers fiercely.

"I only use names with people whom I carry respect," Sakura said, her back pressed against the cabin wall now, "and I don't think my birth certificate reads 'bitch', either."

"You are very obstinate, wench."

Sakura mocked him.

"Why don't you tell me again when I care?"

A shuriken passed by her, dangerously grazing her dress. She barely felt it, though, and looked at the wall where the weapon had been engraved from his throw. She sighed heavily, rubbing her face.

"I am under the impression that you will care," Itachi began.

"Shove it. I don't want to hear your damn lecture, _Dad_." She blinked sarcastically after this, rethinking her statement. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot that you're incapable of having children."

Itachi stood now, advancing towards the woman. He was sure that he wanted to kill her, but he still had to retrieve some information. After he found out about Sasuke in further detail, he'd make sure the job was done. Painfully.

"Come on, honey. That trick is getting old." Sakura said. Instead of pinning her to the wall as he did the night before, he stood in front of her, simply glaring.

"Incapable of having children? Why don't we see about that," he said, looking her over. His intentions were not to touch her, but he knew his observation would faze her. And the effects of it showed almost immediately.

"Don't you dare," Sakura said, attempting to move away from him. She didn't want to even think about doing those sorts of things with this man.

Itachi, in turn, gripped her arm and pulled her toward him. His cold, heartless eyes met hers, and she looked away instantly.

"Let go of me, dammit!" she tugged senselessly away from him, her already bruised arm becoming more injured from Itachi's death-grip. He simply neared her, backing her to the wall now.

"Resistance is useless." He said.

"I'll bite through my tongue before I let you touch me," she hissed, no hint of lying in her voice. The two of them simply stared at each other for a few instants.

From a sudden gust of wind, the door flew open, averting both of their attention towards it. Brief lighting encircled the cabin, and then the door closed, hinges moaning loudly. The cabin must have been years old. But before Sakura could respond, Itachi had leaned in close to her face.

And not only that, but his lips were against hers.

Only now had Sakura actually thought to think about a kiss. His lips were icy, almost frozen against her warm, pale pink ones. She broke it almost instantly, blushing, furious with him.

"Bastard!"

In no ways was Itachi's kiss wanting or desiring, it was simply a mocking one, sardonic of her naïve immaturity. He himself had not enjoyed it, nor wanted to perform the act again. He released her arm, allowing her to babble endlessly about how much of a bastard he was. Itachi was mused by her childish blush, and her glare that swept over his façade.

"Don't you _dare _touch me again!"

"And what will prevent me from doing so?"

Sakura had nothing to say to that. She did, however, act out her anger. In the concise second that it took, she had slapped him, rough and mercilessly.

And of course, Itachi was unaffected by her feeble attempt.

"Bitch." He held her throat, lifting her from the ground. "Next time, I'll make sure you're crying." He released her from his hold, watching her fall to the floor and sputter for air.

Sakura grasped at her neck, coughing. She felt like she was going to throw up.

Itachi walked back towards his previous position. He gathered his cloak and began to put it on again, glaring at the feeble girl.

"Now," he began, barely allowing her time to recuperate, "I want you to tell me more about –"

"No!" Sakura said, still holding her throat, "I am not your little puppet! I'm not doing whatever you want, because dammit, it's not about what you want!"

Itachi stared at her, mostly in disbelief. How dare this – this woman talk back to him? It did not make sense to him that she wasn't cowering in fear. And maybe, if any, his respect meter moved from negative to positive for this wench. For once in his life, he was unsure of how to respond.

Now, Itachi had never been the sort of man to love. Like, even, for that matter. He hated everything, especially the raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens sort of cliché. But his interest had appealed slightly with this girl, whom so boldly addressed him.

Could it be that she reminded him of himself?

Itachi hadn't been paying attention long enough to realize that the girl's head was outside of the door, sounds of gagging coming from her. She was regurgitating. (Yuck.)

After a few moments, she came back in, wiping her mouth. Itachi watched her suspiciously.

"What." She said, glaring slightly.

"Why didn't you run?" he inquired.

"You wouldn't give me a damn option," she said, noting its blatancy. Itachi said nothing, instead glanced off.

It was silent for a passing moment.

"You may leave, if you wish." Itachi said, to Sakura's surprise. He'd gathered enough information, or at least he presumed so. It shouldn't be too hard to track down a blindly raged teenager.

"…You better not be lying." She eyed him, somehow thinking to herself that he wouldn't be the type of person to lie. At least, not in that way.

"Do not claim me of such fraudulence," Itachi said, "just leave."

Sakura continued her stare. She began to walk towards the door, opening it and giving him one last glance before going out.

Itachi watched the door swing closed.

Taka- Wellll that's all for today. - I ish kinda stuck, but I have a few ideas in place that will happen later, so yeah. Please leave meh reviews and such! x3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters in it. But I do own the story! Oh yeah!

Ja ne.


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